Inflatable displays have become increasingly popular in recent years. These types of displays have a wide range of application, shape and size, including, but not limited to, figures for holiday and seasonal decoration, marketing, advertising, entertainment, and event attraction. The inflatable displays are made from a permeable fabric that allows air to pass through the fabric at approximately the same rate as the air being blown into the inflatable display. The process of continuously blowing air being supplied from the fan occurring at substantially the same rate as air escaping the fabric allows the display to maintain its three-dimensional shape without the use of an internal or external frame or structure. These are known in the industry as “cold-air” inflatable displays.
Because most of these displays require a significant amount of airflow from the fan to maintain their inflated state, the fan assembly has been rather large and heavy and has been positioned at the bottom of the inflatable display adjacent the ground for support. A typical fan utilized in prior cold-air inflatable displays has a motor winding with sleeves and bearings configuration. Prior cold-air inflatable displays house the fan within a base positioned at the bottom of the figure into which the fan circulates blown air. Since the base housing the fan rests adjacent the ground, certain measures must be taken by the operator in order to ensure sufficient airflow into the fan. Specifically, the base housing the fan must be positioned at a height far enough above the ground to allow sufficient air to enter the fan. Permanently affixed legs or removable legs secured to the base have been utilized to raise the base housing the fan at a sufficient level above the ground enabling a proper airflow into the fan. If the fan is disposed too close to the ground, the flow of air into the fan may be limited and the figure may not be inflated in the manner desired. Thus, unacceptable inflation of the figure may result because the fan is positioned too low to the ground, or because the legs of the base sink further into the ground after it has already been positioned, or because unwanted debris accumulate between the fan and the ground.
The fan assemblies in prior inflatable displays also have been configured such that the fan assembly and/or the base which houses the fan are permanently affixed to the fabric of the inflatable figure in a variety of ways. For example, the fabric may be directly attached to the fan housing or base or secured to the fan housing or base via a fastening member. Further, because not all inflatable displays have the same shape on their bottom surfaces, the fan and base housing assemblies are unique for each type of display. Thus, in prior inflatable devices the fan assembly is a permanent component of each display. For example, if a consumer were to purchase a jack-o-lantern inflatable display for the Halloween season, a snowman inflatable display for the holiday season, and an Uncle Sam inflatable display for Independence Day, the consumer would be purchasing three complete packages of each inflatable figure, fan assembly, and other components. As the fan assembly is a significant cost component of inflatable devices, the lack of interchangeability between fan assemblies for different displays significantly increases the cost to purchasers of multiple inflatable devices. There is no present apparatus or method utilizing a fan assembly that is interchangeable with several different inflatable figure displays.